


Memorial Day

by ReaderOfFics817



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24411658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderOfFics817/pseuds/ReaderOfFics817
Summary: Tim has a Memorial Day tradition; COVID has thrown a wrench in his plans, but Lucy shows up to make it one for the books. Workouts, memorials, and a little bbq included. Don't know the rules in LA and I'm in a rural place, so don't mind my creative license on what they were and weren't allowed to do under quarantine.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 29
Kudos: 139





	1. 2020

Every year on Memorial Day, Tim Bradford did two things: he went to his gym in the morning for the yearly “Murph” workout, then he went to the memorial for fallen soldiers to visit the friends he no longer could see. It was his tradition, his way to honor the fallen, and to reflect on his time in the military. This year however, was going to be a little different. With all the closures due to COVID, his gym was closed and the memorial he usually sought out was only allowing family members to visit. It shouldn’t have put him in a bad mood, but it did. Through this whole quarantine, he had been good, he liked staying home, but this, this was finally the part that got to him. 

“Big plans for Memorial Day?” Lucy asked a few hours before their shift ended, “Grey gave me the day off since you won’t be here and things have been so quiet.” 

“You’re welcome for the day off, Boot” He smirked, “ And nah, I had asked for it off months ago, forgot to change it after everything shut down.” 

“What do you usually do? I hear you take it off every year, but no one knows where you go.” 

“If no one knows, what makes you think I’ll tell you.” He rolled his eyes, but deep down knew he probably would end up telling her. 

“Cause if you don’t, I’m going to drag you to Angela’s barbecue. She’s having an outdoor small party with just everyone from work after shift since we’ve basically been quarantined together anyway, she just invited the 8 of us, but said you always refuse to go.”

“Blackmailing a police officer?” He tried to hide his smile. 

“Oh come on; I won’t tell. I bet it’s something sappy, otherwise you wouldn’t be weird about telling people.” 

“If you must know, I usually go to the gym, but they’re not open this year.” He told her half the story, avoiding eye contact 

“Ok, that I’ll believe since you do that every day, but that’s not all of it. What do you do after the gym?” 

“Pushing your luck, Boot.” He laughed at her tenacity, suddenly saved by the radio as they heard Nolan come over the radio requesting back up. 

———— 

It was Monday morning, day three of her extended weekend, which usually she would enjoy, but now, three days with nothing to do drove her nuts. She was bored, bored enough that she contemplated a run, which under normal circumstances she would never consider. Maybe it was because usually on Monday’s by 10 am Tim had already made her run at least a mile somehow. Then, she had an idea. Tim said he usually would be at the gym on Memorial Day and he obviously was somewhat upset he wouldn’t be this year. So, she got dressed and ran out the door. 

She found him in his garage, toying with his pull up bar. She waited, not sure if her decision to come here was a mistake. A moment later, he spotted her; she saw the confusion cross his face and then a smirk. 

“You’re not dragging me to any barbecue.” 

“I thought Kojo might need a run and since your plans were cancelled, that you might need a run too. Can’t let you sit around moping all day.” 

“Well, as punishment for disrupting my day free of you, you’re going to do more than run. I’m doing a CrossFIt workout today.” He smirked, obviously joking. They had gotten more comfortable with each other during this last month of her training; between the fiasco with Nolan, the death of two of her academy classmates, and both of them dealing with Rachel leaving, he had eased up on her outside of work. Ultimately, it hadn’t worked with Rachel, but he harbored no hard feelings, happy to hear she was doing well from Lucy on occasion. 

“Bring it, Bradford.” She laughed walking into his garage gym. As much as he was a hard-ass, she did appreciate how fit she had gotten over this last year. Looking around, she noticed his computer was open, “Oh my God, Are you doing a Zoom workout?” 

“It’s tradition, Boot. On Memorial Day we do Murph. I don’t just take off work to go to do a random workout. The Zoom thing though, that I was guilted into.” 

“Oh wait, I’ve heard of this. It’s in honor of a Navy SEAL, right?” 

“Yeah, we do this workout every year on Memorial Day to honor him and other soldiers who were killed in action. Since we can’t do it in person, my gym set up a Zoom meeting for it.. If I can figure out how to join,” he aggressively the keys on his computer. 

“Move.” She laughed, pushing him aside, immediately able to get the video working. 

“Tim!!” About eight other people shouted as his presence became known in the chat. “We thought you bailed on us, man!” One guy chimed in. “Wait, wait, wait, and who’s the pretty lady?” Another guy chimed in, acknowledging Lucy who was smirking at Tim, amused that he had friends outside of work; it was always interesting to learn new things about him. 

“Simmer down, Dave.” Tim rolled his eyes. 

“Hey, if we’re all going to suffer together we should at least know each other’s names, besides now I’m not the only woman here.” One of the other participants chimed in, “I’m Meg, what’s your name girl?” She shouted enthusiastically. 

“Lucy.” She waved, “What exactly am I getting myself into here?” She asked, causing the others to laugh. 

“Don’t worry, you can scale it.” Dave chimed in, “We all do!” 

“Oh, she won’t be scaling it. No rookie I train has to scale anything.” Tim eyed Lucy, with pride.

“Can someone tell me what the workout is?” Lucy rolled her eyes at Tim. 

“One mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another 1 mile run.” The coach chimed in, “You guys ready?” 

Lucy turned to Tim, “Are you serious? That’s insane!” 

“Let’s go, Boot!” Tim laughed as everyone else cheered, heading off on the first run. Lucy quickly accepted defeat, starting at a slow pace behind Tim. 

Thirty minutes in, both Lucy and Tim were drenched in sweat, well into the push ups. They found themselves growing competitive, especially with each other as they held each others speed, cranking out push ups in rounds of twenty. Tim finished first, flopping on the ground before getting up to start the squats. 

“Giving up, old man?” Lucy spoke between the last few sets of push ups. 

“Shut up, Boot. I can make you do more push ups on your sore arms tomorrow.” He rolled over to all fours, working his way to standing. She laughed as she too flopped down on her back, arms completely jello at her sides. “Get up.” He reached out, pulling her to her feet. 

They continued like this through the squats and on to the last mile run, egging each other on, motivating each other to keep going. They both flopped on the ground trying to catch their breath as they made it back to Tim’s garage. Ultimately they finished within 48 minutes, the first in the group to be done. After ten minutes or so, everyone else had also completed the workout; the coach laughing and snapping a screenshot of everyone on the ground, “Sign of a good workout.” 

“I can’t feel my legs.” Meg spoke into the chat, laughing. 

“You never can feel your legs, yet you’re the first one dancing when we go for celebratory beers.” Dave chimed in, poking fun, as he tried to roll to sitting. 

“You guys drink after this?” Lucy asked, shocked, “I’d be drunk off one beer.” 

“Exactly.” Dave smirked, “Too bad we can’t do it this year. Tim, you have to get her the customary celebratory beer for completing her first Murph!” 

“Or two!” Meg chimed in, “No one has ever given Tim a run for his money like that! That was impressive.”

“Yeah, well a year of running behind the cruiser and doing push ups after every call definitely helped.” Lucy laughed, nodding towards Tim. 

“Brutal. He should treat a lady better than that.” Dave winked. 

“This lady could kick your ass, thanks to me.” Tim chimed in, finally sitting up, causing Lucy to smile; it was rare she got such an obvious compliment from him, even if he was partially tooting his own horn. 

“It’s true.” Lucy laughed. The group talked for a few more minutes, most trying to convince Lucy to join their gym, before everyone started leaving the chat to go partake in their small at home barbecues. “Your friend’s are nice, Tim.” Lucy smiled as he closed out of Zoom, switching to a Spotify playlist. 

“They’re somethin’, that’s for sure.” He smiled before getting up and walking over to his beer fridge, grabbing one for himself and Lucy, handing it to her, before sitting back down next to her. “Congrats on surviving Murph, Boot.” He clinked his glass against hers. 

“Thanks,” she smiled taking a swig of the cold liquid, “I see why you take the day off, I don’t think I could work after that, unless it was all traffic tickets.” 

He laughed, “Tomorrow is worse, I promise you.” 

“Please be nice to me.” She frowned at him, “It was fun though, and a cool way to honor those who died serving…” she trailed off, “You ever lose friends?” She asked tentatively. 

“A few.” He nodded, quietly playing with the wrapper of his beer, “That’s why I take today off, I usually go to the memorial downtown, two of my guys are buried there and their families do a joint service for them. They couldn’t do it this year.” 

“That’s really nice, Tim.” Lucy nodded, understanding he probably felt responsible in some way, being their superior. “See, you’re all bark.” She nudged his arm, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Yeah, well don’t go around telling people that. I have a reputation.” He laughed, having another sip of his beer. 

“Is it the memorial at the National Cemetery?” Lucy asked suddenly. 

“Yeah, why?” 

“I have an idea! C’mon!” She jumped up, obviously excited, reaching to help pull him to his feet. 

“Okay, okay.” He laughed, “But first, water.. and I need to change quick.” He pulled at his drenched shirt. 

Within ten minutes, they were each on their second bottle of water and in the car, Lucy directing him where to go. They pulled into a residential community that had a small park, Lucy hopping out of the car, walking towards the woods in the back. 

“Where are we going?” Tim asked, following close behind. 

“You’ll see.” She responded, smiling to herself. Her best friend in high school lived down the street from here, so Lucy knew the park well. They used to sneak out at night, thinking they were badass, to the overlook to share a beer; she’d even brought a boy or two out there. She hadn’t been in years, but if she remembered correctly, it overlooked the same memorial Tim was missing out on today. Five minutes later the trees cleared a bit, and just as she remembered, they were looking straight down at the National Cemetery from above, close enough to see the families one by one visiting the memorial, “We’re here!” Lucy plopped down at the edge of the little cliff they had arrived at. 

Tim smiled down at her, suddenly letting it dawn on him how nice it was to have her company today; how his day would have been spent moping around, feeling guilty; instead, here he was doing exactly what he did every year, and she made that happen. He stood for a moment, just watching her, thinking. The sun was hitting her in a way that made her brown hair glow with hints of blonde, her sunglasses reflecting the scene below, smiling and care free. It was a beautiful sight, he thought, especially since just a few months ago, he wasn’t sure he would ever see her again. It was the first time he thought of her in a new way, a way if he was being honest with himself, he’d been fighting since the day they met; but now, today, in this moment, he let his mind indulge in those thoughts. As his thoughts wandered, she turned around giving him a look, and he smiled, shaking his thoughts away, before sitting down next to her. “How’d you know about this place?” 

“My friend lived in this development when we were kids, we used to all uh, sneak out here sometimes to get away from our parents.” She shrugged. 

“Little heart breaker Lucy Chen had a make-out spot?” He laughed. 

“Maybe.” She shrugged, “Or a beer drinking spot.” She turned to him laughing. 

“Thanks, Lucy… for bringing me here.” He suddenly was his usual serious self again, “Other than when I was on my second tour, I haven’t missed a year since they died.” 

“You’re welcome. It’s a nice thing you do for their families; show you still remember them and care. It’s what makes you a good leader.” 

“I don’t know about that.” He said softly. Though he knew rationally that war was war and there wasn’t much he could have done to prevent the deaths of the two men, as their superior he felt somewhat responsible. He used to replay the days they died in his head over and over, second guessing every order, every move they made that day. He had gone to therapy after his tours were done, which helped, but still, sometimes, he still blamed himself. 

“You should know that, Tim.” She put her hand on his shoulder, “I’m going to be a great cop because of you, I’m alive today because of you. Don’t doubt yourself. You can’t save everyone, not in war, and not in life. You being hard on me made me strong, it made me smart, but it didn’t make me invincible. I know that, and so did they. I’m confident they wouldn’t want you blaming yourself, because I never would want that either.” 

He stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing her words, before nodding slightly, “I’ll try, how’s that?” He turned to her with a smile. It was amazing that she always knew exactly what to say; but that was something they shared, at least with each other, always knowing how to calm each others nerves. 

“I’ll take it. Now, how can I get you to come to Angela’s?” She nudged him. 

He rolled his eyes, laughing, Truth be told, he had no interest in a party, even a small one, since these were the only people he’d been around for the last 3 months due to quarantine, but he wasn’t ready for Lucy’s presence in his day to be done, so his options were limited, “I guess you earned it.” 

——- 

A few hours later, Tim pulled up to Lucy’s apartment to pick her up. They both had needed a shower and Tim had to go grab something from the grocery store to bring. He texted her that he was outside and waited, before spotting her, arms full of food walking to his truck. The sight caused a flutter in his chest. One day spent with everyday, not at work Lucy Chen was all it took for his mental blocks to disintegrate; suddenly he saw her as a woman, a living, breathing, woman. Not that he didn’t before, but before was different; before she was just his Boot, someone he had to train. God, he was in trouble. 

“Feeding an army?” He laughed, trying to shake off what he was feeling with a joke. 

“I have Jackson’s stuff too - they got held up so they’re all heading straight there.” She handed half of it to him so he could put it in the truck. 

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to Angela’s, seeing that everyone else was already there. Wes answered the door, letting them in. For getting home late, she had a nice set up, food on the counters, slider doors leading to the back green space, a cooler filled with beer in the corner, complete with American flag plates. They walked out the back door where everyone was sitting in camping chairs, laughing about something that had happened that day. 

“Good day off, slackers?!” Angela greeted them, “You missed all the fun! West got hit on and then subsequently barfed on my some girl who ran out of things to do on the long weekend and drank her entire liquor cabinet.” 

“Gross.” Lucy laughed, slowly sitting down, her legs starting to fail her from their morning workout. 

“Your legs alright, Lucy?” Jackson watched her try to sit in a chair, “Seems like you’re having a little trouble.” 

“My legs are jello, thanks to Tim.” She glared at him, causing Jackson to snort laughing, the others looking at her, mouths agape. “What?” She looked back at them, not understanding they took her comment as sexual, instead of what it truly was. 

“We did Murph, you perverts.” Tim rolled his eyes at the group, as he cracked open a beer. 

“Wait, what did you think we did?” Lucy asked, still not realizing. 

“Uh…” They all started, refusing to look at Lucy or Tim directly, “Oh, nothing.” Angela brushed it off, glaring at Tim. 

“Oookay. Well, I’m going to go make a margarita, does anyone want one?” She stood to walk inside, as Angela and Jackson raised their hands. 

Once she was inside, all eyes turned to Tim. “So, you guys hung out all day?” Angela whispered quiet enough so Lucy couldn’t hear, but everyone outside did, “And you came here together?” 

“Is there a problem with that, Officer Lopez?” He glared back, a little concerned. Lopez was a better detective, better at reading people, than she let on. She was one of the few people on this planet that could read Tim, and he knew it. 

“No, no problem. Just interesting.” She smirked, causing him to give her a ‘stop it right there’ look. 

Lucy returned a few moments later, margaritas in hand, “What’s interesting?” 

“Tim can tell you later,” Angela responded causing Lucy to look confused, “How about a game of corn hole? Team Lopez vs Team Bradford?” Tim knew what she was doing, trying to get him alone. Nolan was manning the grill, and Nyla was home with her daughter, so he would be occupied. 

“You’re on.” Lucy and Jackson ran over to the closest pile of bean bags, as Tim and Angela took the one on the farther end of the yard. 

As they played, Angela turned to Tim, speaking quietly, “So what’s up with you two?” 

“Nothing Angela. She stopped by to see if Kojo needed a run and I was doing my normal Memorial Day routine, so she joined. That’s it.” 

“Uh hu.” She said skeptically. “How’d she convince you to come here? I invite you every year, you never come, you’re always off doing God knows what on Memorial Day.” 

“If you haven’t noticed, a lot of normal Memorial Day things aren’t happening this year.” He picked up his bean bag trying to distract from what she was really asking, lining up his first throw, getting it right on the board. 

“You know what I think, I think you have the hots for your rookie.” She smirked as her words made him throw his last bean bag almost completely in the wrong direction. “Point made.” She laughed, starting to throw her three bean bags, as he just glared at her. 

They wrapped up the game as Nolan called them that the burgers were done, Lucy and Tim winning by one point, as she came and high fived him. 

“I demand a rematch!” Jackson rolled his eyes at them, before he and Lucy ran over to Nolan for food. 

Angela walked up to Tim as she too headed towards the grill, “I don’t hear you denying it.” 

“Angela…” he warned her, but still didn’t try to tell her otherwise. She held up her hands in defeat with a smile, indicating she wouldn’t push it, but he wasn’t fooling her. That night she watched them interact with new curiosity; as she said earlier, it was interesting; like they were circling around each other with the ease of a 20 year partnership, but still at times, she noticed them retreat from a too comfortable joke, or from any form of physical interaction. Yes, she decided, they were interesting…


	2. 2021

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memorial Day 2021; same schedule of events, but a year later.

A year had passed, a whole spin around the sun, and it was Memorial Day again. Some things were the same, some things were different. For one, Lucy and Tim were now partners, he now a sergeant, but he made a point to not treat her like a subordinate; on the job, they were equals. Outside of work they were close friends; Lucy eventually had joined his gym, so they ultimately spent a lot of time together. But, much to Angela’s amusement and at this point, everyone’s amusement, they still just circled around each other, like two astroids you thought were going to collide, but kept missing each other by mere millimeters. Hell, Angela and Jackson had even shared intel, Angela recently getting Tim to admit he had thought about it; Jackson getting Lucy to admit she would say yes if he asked her out. Really, it was only a matter of time; but for now, it was almost excruciating to watch. 

They both requested Memorial Day off this year, gearing up to beat last years time at the gym. Tim had invited Lucy to join him at the memorial service too, and as usual, Angela was throwing a party after shift, this time with more than six people. 

“Here.” Lucy read on her phone; Tim was picking her up to head to the gym; she was excited to do Murph in person this year, especially now that she knew what she was getting in to. She had grown close to Meg too, frequently meeting up with her for drinks or mani-pedis, chatting about Meg’s blossoming romance with Dave, and her will they won’t they saga with Tim. She grabbed her bag so she could change at Tim’s, and ran out the door. 

“Ready?” He smiled, handing her an iced coffee as she jumped in the passenger seat of his truck. 

“I will be after this coffee.” She immediately started sucking it down, “How you feelin, old man? Think you can keep up with me?” 

“That’s how you’re gonna talk to someone who brought you coffee?” He faked offense, causing her to smile and shrug. “Why don’t we make a friendly bet out of it.” 

“Hmmm, that could be arranged. Loser buys drinks?” 

“Deal.” 

Ten minutes later they were pulling into the gym a few minutes to spare. They immediately started mingling with their friends, chatting about their plans for the afternoon, before the coach started gathering everyone together. Everyone knew the workout, so the review was pretty quick, and the clock started. 

“Let’s go, Boot!” Tim turned to run backwards, calling for Lucy as she was still running beside Meg.

Lucy rolled her eyes before turning to Meg, “We have a bet going, I want free drinks later, so I’ll catch you at the end?” 

“Kick his ass.” She said seriously, but with a knowing wink. 

Lucy nodded with a smile, before running to catch up with Tim. They ran at a steady pace together, a one mile run not requiring much exertion from either of them. Running had become their thing, weekly taking Kojo to the park, so they ran in comfortable silence, quickly finishing, before moving on to pull ups. By the time they reached the squats, they were working hard, but well on their way to beating their previous years time. 

“Next year, I’m putting you guys in a vest.” The coach laughed as they started bickering and getting competitive as they neared the end. 

“Vest?” Lucy asked. 

“Yeah, the true Murph, or at least how Murphy did it, was with a weighted vest.” 

“Jesus.” Lucy spoke between heavy breaths, “Glad you didn’t do that today, it’s way too hot out.” LA was always warm, but today was starting to show itself as a scorcher; straight sun and no clouds. Even the usual beach breeze was minimal. They finished the squats, Lucy racing to catch up with Tim who had just started on the last run. “Tired yet?” She reached him and slowed to his pace. 

“Not tired enough to let you win.” He smirked, speeding up, but obviously nearing exhaustion as his stride wasn’t as smooth as usual. They looped around, the gym back in sight, neither able to outrun the other. The coach started cheering them on, before turning on the sprinklers, knowing everyone could use a cool down. They both beelined it straight for the grass, slipping into each other as they rolled to the ground, Lucy landing with a thud on top of him, his strong arms wrapping around her in an attempt to cushion her fall. “I won.” He smirked, trying to regain his breath. 

“No way, Bradford. You’re buying me a margarita.” Lucy leaned down, whispering in his ear, laughing as the sprinkler rained over them. She lifted back up again, catching his gaze, as they both realized the position they were in, but neither making any attempt to move. She was close enough to feel his hot breath on her cheek, smell his cologne that was amplified from exercise, feel his strong hands gripping her hips, rough on the bare skin that was peaking out under her shirt. 

His eyes twinkled as he smiled up at her, realizing this was his chance. He quickly flipped her over, so he now hovered over her small frame, looking into her eyes for permission to do what he was about to do. She softly smiled at him then realizing where this was going; they’d been here before, a few times, but one of them always backed off. This time however, that small smile as she bit her lip gave him all the permission he needed. He leaned in as she lifted slightly, meeting him halfway. Their lips brushed tentatively at first, before Lucy gripped his now soaked shift, pulling him closer to her, deepening the kiss, before falling back, both innocently laughing at the situation, but both smiling. 

“Get it girl!!!” They heard Meg yell from a few feet away as her and Dave ran up joining them under the cool water, flopping down on to the grass to rest their tired legs. 

“About time, bro!” Dave joined in, causing Lucy and Tim to roll their eyes, falling away from each other to gaze up at the sky. 

After a few minutes, Tim moved slowly, getting to his feet, reaching an arm out to help Lucy up. “C’mon, let’s get you that margarita.” He smiled, not letting go of her hand as he guided her towards the group that was congregating to walk down the street to their usual spot.

Tim and Dave made their way to the bar to grab everyone drinks, leaving Lucy with Meg. “Soooo,” Meg started, eyeing Lucy obviously wanting to discuss what she had just witnessed. 

“Yes, Margaret?” Lucy responded using her friend’s full name knowing it annoyed her, trying to hide her growing smile, pretending she didn’t know Meg wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. 

“You’ve been holding out on me! How long has that been going on?!” She nodded towards Tim. 

“All of fifteen minutes. Shh!” Lucy tried to quiet her. 

“Oh my God, that was the first? Oh my GOD!” She just about screeched before regaining her cool, “He just like laid one on you?! That’s so hot,” she laughed, “So what are you gonna do?” 

“Hopefully, that again?” Lucy joked, her cheeks blushing slightly. 

“Girl you are in troubleeee.” She drew out the last word, with a laugh as Tim and Dave arrived back at the table. 

“What are you ladies talking about?” Dave slid into his chair around the high top. 

“Nothing.” They both said, a little too quickly, taking a sip of their drinks. Tim cocking his head slightly, looking at Lucy, knowing they were likely talking about him, before he too slid into his chair. 

“You guys hungry?” Tim asked trying to distract Meg who was currently glaring at him with a smirk, directing the group to their normal conversations. 

——- 

Tim and Lucy made it back to his condo by noon, having to be at the memorial by 1 pm, giving them only a half hour to get ready. “You want to shower first?” Tim opened his hallway closet pulling out two towels, handing one to Lucy. 

“Sure,” she smiled, somewhat awkwardly. They hadn’t mentioned the kiss on their ride home, but she could tell his mood had brightened significantly from baseline; him catching her staring at him a few times, always smiling in response before continuing the drive home. 

“There’s shampoo and all that in there, sorry its not fruity; if you need anything just yell. I’m gonna let Kojo out back.” He rattled off, obviously a little nervous now that they were alone in his home. 

“Tim.” She caught his attention, wanting to calm his nerves. He turned as she walked up to him, waiting for her to continue. Instead, she stood on her tip toes, quickly kissing him on the lips, taking him by surprise, “Thanks.” She smiled before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door, leaving him standing there, butterflies in his stomach. Kojo barked, pulling him from his happy trance; he laughed at himself before running towards the back door to let out their dog; this, for sure, was going to be an interesting afternoon. 

——- 

They arrived at the memorial, sliding in towards the back of the small crowd that had congregated in the far corner, Lucy noticing an older man nodding towards Tim in silent greeting. It was a nice memorial, quick and quiet, the family members of fallen soldiers, making small comments about their lost loved one, remembering why this holiday is observed. They then played a slide show of pictures, both of home life and military service. A few included Tim, young and vibrant, smiling at the camera, arms wrapped around a bunch of other service members. Lucy watched him as he watched the film, jaw slightly clenched, she knew he struggled with this time in his life. She reached over, grabbing his hand, squeezing it in reassurance. He looked down at their intertwined hands, then up to her with a small smile, before turning his attention back to the pictures, not letting her hand go.

The pictures came to an end, noting the closure of the small yearly ceremony. “C’mon,” Tim stood, not letting go of Lucy’s hand as she followed him into the small crowd. 

“Bradford!” Two men, around Tim’s age, called from their right. 

“How you guys doing?” Tim smiled, greeting the two with a hug. 

“Good, man; and who’s this?” One of the two men turned to Lucy. 

“This is Lucy, Lucy this is James and Mike.” Tim pointed out each of the two men, “We served together in Afghanistan.” 

The four of them spoke for some time, Mike and James telling a few stories about Tim as an Army sergeant, making Lucy laugh; some things never change, apparently he was always a no nonsense leader. She returned the favor by sharing some stories of LAPD sergeant Tim when they asked how civilian life was. Eventually, they were interrupted by the parents of the fallen soldiers, thanking them for attending, even after all these years. Tim seemed to know one of the fathers well, breaking off to talk with him privately for a few minutes, before Tim called Lucy over to introduce her. 

After having a similar conversation with him, the older man turned to Tim with a smile, “Anyway, I better let you guys get going, I figure you might have barbecues to go to or whatever you young people do these days, thank you for coming Tim, it means a lot to me and Carol that you show up every year,” Tim nodded in acknowledgement, before he then turned to Lucy, “You’ve got a good man here Lucy,” he grabbed Tim’s shoulder with a smile, “And it was a pleasure to meet you.” 

“I know,” she turned to Tim with a smile grabbing his hand; the first day of rookie training, she never thought in a million years they would be here; she thought he was an ass, but eventually, he let her see parts of him not many others did, the side of him that’s soft, caring, and loyal. Now that she had him, she didn’t want to let him go, “And it was nice to meet you as well.” She looked back at the man, before he walked back towards his family. “Ready to go?” She squeezed his hand, “Angela’s party starts in two hours and I need to make the guac” 

“Definitely.” He dropped her hand, raising his arm to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her closer as he laid a quick kiss on the top of her head. Though they still hadn’t talked about the obvious change in their relationship, they both pretty much knew where it was going; even so, it didn’t change the newness and subtle awkwardness they were dancing around, as any new couple would experience. That catching your footing in a new exciting world feeling, where any touch or interaction sent butterflies through your core, making even the dreariest of days brighter. 

———-

A few hours later, guac in hand, they arrived at Angela and Wes’ new house. They had bought it a few months back, giving them a nice back yard, and large open kitchen. Lucy and Tim met up with everyone out back, joining the party as Nyla threw them both beers. 

“So, who won?” Jackson asked the two, referring to the Murph this morning, knowing the two of them couldn’t help but be competitive about it. 

“I did.” They both said in response. “Hey!” Lucy playfully hit Tim’s arm, “You totally admitted defeat when you brought be my margarita.” 

“I did not. We tied.” He defended confidently, sitting on the open bench surrounding the table everyone had claimed, Lucy quickly sitting down next to him, allowing their knees to touch slightly, him taking it as an invitation to slide his hand over the knee that was touching his. 

“You’re both crazy. That workout is crazy.” Jackson responded. 

“It’s was fun,” Lucy laughed, “Anyway, you guys have a good day on shift?” 

“Multiple family barbecues gone wrong.” Nolan smirked, “One grill actually exploded, it was awesome.” He acted out an explosion, causing Nyla to roll her eyes. 

“Projectiles are not awesome.” Nyla spoke sternly, causing the others to laugh. 

They soon were interrupted by Angela indicating the food was done; she had set up a buffet line, complete with burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and all your other typical Memorial Day foods. She and Wes filled their plates first as everyone insisted since they cooked, finding their spot at the table as everyone else lined up. As she lifted her burger, something caught her eye; Tim laying a hand on Lucy’s lower back, leaning in to her personal space, whispering something that made them both laugh. Interesting, she thought, deciding she would observe them a little closer this evening; blatant invasion of personal space was not something they did often, and when they did it usually was short lived, not the lingering interaction she was currently observing. 

“What do you thinks up with them?” Wes asked innocently. 

“Who?” Angela asked, not realizing her husband would notice the intricacies of Tim and Lucy. 

“Tim and Lucy…or at least Tim. He seems, I don’t know, relaxed..care free. I’ve never seen him like that.” 

“First of all, I’m shocked you noticed, and second yeah, I can’t pinpoint what it is, but they’re different, about time if something did happen though.” Angela continued to watch the two as they made their way back to the table.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Bradford. What’s up?” Angela immediately interrogated her friend. 

“What? I’m not allowed to be in a good mood? I had the day off, usually that puts a person in a good mood.” He took a swig of his beer. 

“You in a good mood is about as unsettling as the Q word on shift.” She rolled her eyes. 

“I had a nice day, that’s all.” He looked down at his food, avoiding eye contact, as Lucy stayed quiet next to him. God, she was a good detective, he thought, by the end of the night he was sure she would figure them out; not that they were trying to hide anything really, just they hadn’t defined it themselves yet. 

At that point, everyone else arrived at the table, so the subject thankfully switched. At least until they finished up, Angela deciding they needed a rematch from last year - her and Jackson against Lucy and Tim in corn hole; old T.Os on one side, their rookies on the other. Tim knew exactly what she was doing, but Lucy and Jackson of course had no idea, immediately agreeing to it, forcing Tim to follow Anglea, yet again, to the farther side of the corn hole game. 

“You can’t fool me, Lopez. I know what you’re doing.” Tim whispered assertively. 

“And what would that be? I just want to play corn hole.” She smirked innocently as she picked up the bean bags, starting to toss her first one. “Unless of course, you want to tell me the real reason you’ve been sitting over there with a dopy smile on your face all evening, making googley eyes at Chen.” 

“I’m not dopy.” He defended, trying to stop the totally dopy smile from crossing his features. 

“That’s your best defense?” She turned to him after throwing her last bean bag. “Admit it, something happened between you two, didn’t it? 

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, Angela.” He threw his first bag. 

“So there was kissing then?” She teased him, as he realized what his words implied. 

“I, uh — “ He looked guilty, trying to find a way out of her questioning, knowing it was futile, “Just twice, okay, but can you please not make a big deal out of it. We haven’t gotten the chance to talk about it.” 

She looked at him then, satisfied she got him to admit it. “You do realize though, that it is a big deal? That girl loves you.” She suddenly looked serious. 

“I know.” Tim said quietly as he threw his last bean bag, “I love her too,” he admitted as he locked eyes with Lucy across the game field, him smiling at her as he took her in, wavy hair spiraling over her shoulders, eyes glistening as the lights from the porch reflected off of them, laughing at something Jackson said. Yeah, he thought, he had done the unthinkable, he had fallen for his Boot, and it felt, oh so good. 

—

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Tim having felt freed by his admission to Angela, let himself just enjoy being in Lucy’s company, dropping his guard, no longer watching himself and his actions towards her. By the end of the night, everyone noticed something was different, but chose to ignore it, at least when Tim and Lucy were around; they were happy for their friends, and had been expecting this change in events for awhile. 

“So, what do you guys think is up with them?” Jackson smirked as he joined Angela, Nolan, Nyla, and Grace, pointing at Tim and Lucy who were currently playfully embraced by the speakers, Tim twirling her under his hand as they laughed with each other.

“I think you’re going home alone tonight, is what I think.” Nyla stated as Jackson’s face turned to one of shock, then horror. 

“Oh GOD. Wait, if they’re a thing… we have thin walls.” Jackson stated. Though he had been rooting for them all year, he never thought about his living situation in relation to them; Bradford still intimidated him to no end. 

“Better buy some ear plugs, Boot.” Angela patted his shoulder causing the group to laugh, “They’re like two sexually charged astroids about to collide, when that dam finally breaks…” 

“Amen.” Nolan and Nyla agreed, continuing to watch the two outside as they laughed and spun around to the music. 

— 

“So, you wanna talk about the elephant in the room?” Tim smiled as he spun her under his hand one more time, before pulling her back to him.

He looked at her in a way that she knew she had nothing to worry about; this conversation was going to go exactly as she hoped it would, “That depends, am I the elephant or are you the elephant?” She smirked, causing him to laugh. 

“I think, we as a collective pair, are the metaphorical elephant.” He spoke softly into her ear with a flirty tone. “I’m serious, Lucy.” 

She paused before speaking, “What you did this morning… I’ve been waiting for you to do that a long time.” She looked at him. 

“Well, I’ve been wanting to do that a long time.” He flirted as he spun her again, grabbing her sides as she returned to him. 

“Who would have thought two years ago, we’d end up here, huh?” Lucy giggled, and boy he wanted to hear her giggle like that every day for the rest of his life. 

“Definitely not me,” he laughed, “Rule one of being a T.O., don’t fall in love with your Boot. But, you know, every rule is sometimes worth breaking…” 

She caught her breath at his admission, stopping her movements so they now were only swaying to the music. “In love?” She questioned. 

“Did I say that?” He made a face like he was confused, but the grin forming on his face told her he was just joking. 

“You did.” She smiled, “For the record, I love you too.” She slid her arms up and around his neck before standing on her toes to kiss him gently, lingering a few moments, before the cheers from their friends pulled them back to reality. “Take me home, Tim.” She whispered in his ear, letting her breath tickle the stubble forming along his jaw. 

“I was starting to think you’d never ask.” He smiled down at her, twisting a lock of her hair around his fingers, before kissing her quickly and practically dragging her out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. 2022

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2022; Memorial Day; you know the drill.

Two years had passed since that first fateful Memorial Day that changed the trajectory of Tim and Lucy’s relationship; one year had passed since they finally let their guard down and made that set trajectory hit it’s target. It had been a really good year; Lucy and Tim dove head first into their relationship and it paid off. At home, they were full of passion, love, and contentment; at work, that translated in to a seamless partnership with multiple closed cases, that the brass frequently acknowledged, even after they disclosed their relationship. However, their job was dangerous, and sometimes things were unavoidable, which is how Tim ended up in the position he was in now, his left leg wrapped in a knee brace, crutches leaning against the wall next to Lucy’s bed. Thankfully, it was just a strain, but definitely put a rut in their usual Memorial Day plans. But, it gave him an idea and once he had that idea, the knee became an essential part of the plan. 

A soft breeze blew threw her window, stirring Tim awake. He used to be an up and at ‘em type, but over the past year, waking up next to Lucy, he’s learned to just enjoy the peace that morning brought. As he stirred, he felt the warmth of her arm resting on his chest, her head pressing against his shoulder, the soft rise and fall of her chest against his side. It amazed him to this day that he could find restful sleep like that; before Lucy he was not the snuggling type, but now, he couldn’t sleep if some part of him wasn’t in contact with her. He pulled her closer, reaching his right hand to his chest, placing on top of hers. 

After some time, he slowly opened his eyes, shifting slightly to look at her, which caused her to stir, grumbling quietly as she dug her face deeper into the crook of his neck to hide the sunlight that was now shining bright through her windows. She was never the up and at ‘em type, she was the drag out of bed, at least three alarm clocks type, and since Tim started joining her in her bed, the getting up part got even harder. Usually this was the point in the morning where he would roll towards her, pulling her underneath him, as he placed soft kisses along her neck and jaw to wake her, but unfortunately his knee currently made that impossible, so instead he just allowed her to grumble and bury herself into his side. 

A solid half hour later, she finally lifted her head, mumbling a good morning, before flopping her head back down onto his shoulder. He smiled, removing his hand from hers, and placing it instead on her cheek, tucking the hair off her face, “Happy anniversary, Lucy.” 

She opened her eyes again before whispering, “Best year of my life.” She placed her lips on his softly, him returning and deepening the kiss, them both getting lost in each other. After a few minutes, Lucy was finally fully awake, using her new found energy to roll herself on top of him with a smirk. Usually sex with Tim was a battle for dominance, which she didn’t mind one bit, but today…today she was going to have fun with his inability to take charge. He was there for the taking, and she’d be a fool to not indulge…. 

—— 

“That was a good warm up.” Lucy giggled beside Tim, still slightly short of breath. 

“Speaking of, we should probably get up so you’re not late.” Tim couldn’t do most of the workout this year, but he had insisted that Lucy still participate to keep the tradition alive. 

She flipped back on top of him, kissing him one last time, before climbing out of bed and finding her gym clothes. “I’ll make breakfast, while you get ready?” She passed him his crutches. 

“Yeah.” He smiled, grabbing a towel and making his way down the hall. He returned to her room, opening the drawer she had reserved for him. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, before reaching deep within the drawer, finding the small jewelry box he had hid there last evening, slipping it into his pocket. He felt nervous. Even though she had pretty much told him if he ever asked she would say yes, the thought about what he was about to do causing a nervous flutter to start in his chest, a mix of nerves and excitement. 

He found the ring a month ago, really by accident; he had been out shopping for a Mother’s Day gift when he saw it. It was a unique ring, but to him it screamed Lucy Chen; it had a solitary round diamond in the center, with three smaller diamonds framing it on either side. He bought it right then and there, having the day they met, her first day as a rookie, engraved on the inside. Though he knew early on he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Lucy, he hadn’t been planning to propose any time soon; a year of dating was fast by his standards; sure, he thought about moving in with her, they basically were halfway there anyway, but marriage? He always considered it something you never rush into, especially after the fiasco with Isabel. But, when he saw that ring, he knew regardless of when he planned on doing it, it was going to be with that ring. 

Shortly after, he hurt his knee and they both were granted a few days off; they used the time to take an extended weekend getaway. They rented a small cabin on a lake, and it was there that he realized there was no reason to wait. It was silly really, they had just been sitting outside, him taking a nap while she read a book when her laughing woke him. She hadn’t noticed that he had stirred, so he was granted a few moments to just observe her; she was so carefree, the sun shining on her face, and he knew. In that moment, he understood the ‘when you know, you know’ feeling that so many spoke of; it wasn’t rushing, it was just showing that in an unsure world, he was sure about her. A week later, he came up with a plan for Memorial Day, their day. 

—— 

They made it to the gym, Tim finding a comfortable spot on top of some boxes usually used for box jumps as Lucy, Meg, and Dave geared up to do Murph. Their friends were all in on the plan; they would all let Lucy finish the last run first, while they hung back. It worked seamlessly; Lucy ran over to the grass, collapsing just as she did last year. After catching her breath, she sat up, looking around confused as she realized everything was dead quiet, which was weird since there were multiple people near her pace just moments before. That was when she saw Tim leaning against the side of the gym, watching her with a smile. She cocked her head to the side, knowing he was up to something, but not entirely allowing herself to believe he was about to do what her brain was telling her he was about to do. 

“What’s this?” She smiled as she approached him. She could tell he was a little nervous, but he also had this look in his eye; she had seen it, like he was confident in what he was about to do. 

“Lucy… This day, this place, has become our thing. It used to be a day that brought me nothing but guilt and sadness, but you changed that; you made this day one of hope and joy. So, when I decided to do this, I knew that I wanted it to be part of our tradition; to continue adding good memories to an otherwise hard day.” Tim spoke quietly, grasping her hands in his. “The day we met I knew you were going to be different from any other boot I got to train; I may have not realized at first that this is where we’d end up, but thinking back on the last few years, I realize now that this was and is an inevitability, and that makes me the luckiest guy on earth. You make me happy, you make me crazy, but most importantly, you make me feel like I’m home no matter where I am. I love you and I want to spend every day for the rest of my life telling you and showing you that…. “ He paused, smirking as he saw the slight smile pull at the corner of Lucy’s lips; her eyes glistening slightly, “Now, I’d get down on one knee if I could…” he fished into his pocket pulling out the ring, “but what do you say, Boot?” His eyes and smile playful as he opened the jewelry box, “Will you marry me?” He still sometimes called her that, always as a term of endearment, and it warmed her straight to her core. 

She let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding, “Hell yeah, I’ll marry you.” Lucy smiled sweetly, laughing happily, as he slid the ring on to her finger. She looked up, seeing the satisfied and very relieved smile on his face, before he leaned down pulling her to him for a kiss. 

Though the others couldn’t hear what they were saying, Meg was poking her head around the corner watching their interaction, and shamelessly snapping a few pictures, knowing they would appreciate having the physical memory of this moment for themselves. She gave them a minute to celebrate alone, but when they pulled back from each other, she shouted to everyone that Lucy had said yes. And with that, everyone ran out from the side of the building, shouting congratulations to their two friends. Meg of course ran up to them, wanting to see the ring, “Holy shit, it’s beautiful!” She gushed, turning to Tim, “I was nervous when you said he bought one without anyones approval, but damn. You did good.” 

“Appreciate the confidence, Meg.” Tim laughed. 

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, “Let’s go celebrate!” She ran ahead to drag Dave towards the bar down the road. 

Tim and Lucy followed slowly behind, partially because Tim was on crutches, but also because they wanted to quietly enjoy this moment together. “You did do good, it’s perfect.” Lucy looked down at her hand, the diamonds sparkling in the sunlight. 

“I saw it and immediately knew it was the ring I wanted to ask you with… Oh, I didn’t show you… look on the inside of the band.” 

She paused, as she slipped the ring off to read inside. She smiled as she read it, looking up at Tim, “Best day of life.” She whispered as she read the date he had engraved, before giggling, “You are such a sap.” She kissed his cheek, before they continued to follow the crowd down the street. 

“Just for you.” He said honestly. He was still hard-ass Tim Bradford, but for her, he definitely had a huge soft spot. 

They spent the next hour celebrating with friends, before heading to Tim’s to get ready for the memorial service. The service went off similar to last year, but Lucy noticed that Tim smiled through the entire thing this time.. no clenched jaw, no look of anguish. He held her hand, playing with the new ring on her finger, as he watched. It seemed like he was enjoying the old pictures and memories, focusing on the good aspects of that time, rather than the bad. It made her happy to see that he was finally able to do that, and that she there to witness it. 

Lucy called her parents on the way home, sharing the good news. Her Dad tried to act surprised, but she could tell he was looped in on the plan. After she hung up, she turned to Tim, “Did you ask my Dad for permission? He’s such a bad liar.” She laughed. 

“I didn’t ask permission,” he smirked at her, “but we had a conversation. I know you think it’s antiquated, but I did it out of respect for your father. Ultimately, he could have told me no way in hell and I still would have asked you, but I felt like I should loop him in.” As much as Lucy’s dad hated the idea of his little girl being a cop in a big city, he and Tim got along really well right from the start; like an unsaid understanding that Tim hated Lucy being in danger as much as he did, and he’d be there to protect her in and out of the job in any way possible. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” She turned to him as he pulled into his driveway, kissing him after he shut the car off, Before it got too heated, he suggested they make their way inside, Lucy practically jumping him the second the front door closed. 

He dropped one of the crutches against the door, wrapping his arm around her waist with his now free arm, pulling her tightly against him. Again, with his slight lack of balance, she had the advantage, shifting her attention from his lips to his neck, letting one arm wrap around his neck, the other under his shirt. “Lucy,” he spoke low and gruffly. 

“Couch.” She walked slowly, never leaving his embrace as he used his one crutch to get himself across the room to his couch. 

“I should propose more often,” He joked between kisses. Reaching the couch, he sat first, her climbing on to his lap, straddling him as he ran his hands up her thighs, to her hips, gripping on to him like his life depended on it, causing her to moan quietly as she tried to acknowledge his last words. Something about being engaged added to the thrill of Tim Bradford; she would one day soon be Lucy Bradford, basically claiming her place permanently as his; and that fact, sent a satisfying fire right through her. 

—- 

Some time later, Tim rolled to the side, his back pressing against the back of the couch, before pulling the throw blanket over them both. “Why can’t we just stay here, I think Angela will understand,” he placed small kisses on her neck, his afternoon stubble tickling her neck. 

“We promised,” she giggled, “Besides, I’m hungry.” 

“Worked up an appetite?” He laughed, hearing her stomach growl in support of her statement. 

“We haven’t eaten today, and we just had sex twice in a matter of an hour, I know you’re hungry too.” 

“Fine, but no promises I won’t go full cave man and drag you out of there.” He continued his path along her collar bone, his words making her laugh out loud. The confirmation of forever awakened something in him in a way it hadn’t with Isabel; maybe his subconscious back then knew she wasn’t forever for him; it wasn’t that he didn’t love Isabel then, he did; but he realized now they were brought together to learn from each other, to grow so they were ready when their forever person walked through that door. 

“Oh my god, we’re already late.” She squirmed, moving to stand, taking the blanket with her, leaving him exposed on the couch, as she started gathering her clothes. Eyes twinkling, he watched her, not bothering to move himself. At least until she rolled her eyes at him and started throwing his previously discarded clothes at him. 

—- 

They arrived at Angela and Wes’ only forty minutes late, but late enough that everyone noticed, since they were usually quite punctual people. “How nice of you two to show up!” Angela and Jackson acknowledged their presence as they made their way into the back yard, “Bum knee slow you down that much, old man?” Angela directed at Tim. 

“No. We have a good excuse.” He smiled, turning to Lucy, letting her do the honors. She lifted her left hand, wiggling her fingers at the group, the diamond reflecting off the string lights Angela had wrapped around her her patio. 

The group cheered in congratulations; Angela, Jackson, Nyla, and Grace immediately running over to see the ring. “Who would of thought, Tim Bradford, marrying his damn rookie.” Angela laughed, playfully hitting his shoulder, happy for her friend. 

“Speaking of,” Lucy smiled, slipping the ring off showing Nolan and Jackson the engraving, Tim blushing slightly as the two men read it and smiled at Tim. 

“What’s it say?” Angela tried to poke her head in to read it herself… “Oh my God” she laughed, “That’s adorable…Tim, you are adorable.” 

“Call me adorable again, Lopez. See how well it goes for you.” He rolled his eyes, sitting down at the table to let his knee rest. 

“I had to watch you pine over her for an entire year before you grew some balls, Tim. I am allowed to call you whatever I want, it’s friend rights.” She joked, “But really, I’m happy for you, for both of you…” She paused with a smile before calling to Wes, “Babe! Grab the champagne, Bradford finally put a ring on it!” 

“Congrats guys.” Wes arrived with a bunch of flutes and two bottles of champagne. 

They all toasted to Lucy and Tim’s engagement, enjoying each others company, before Angela spoke again with a laugh, “God, I remember the first time I realized you had a thing for Lucy.” She said to Tim, “You were screwed from the start.” 

“Oh, I’d love to hear this.” Lucy laughed, placing her hand on his knee, relaxing into him. 

“The first time I questioned it, It was right before you guys graduated your rookie year, the day you and Jackson rode together as a test day without us… we heard you over the radio calling for back up, that call with the guy shooting out the window, and we were legit on the complete opposite side of town,” she laughed at the memory, “He signed responding and pulled a totally ridiculous u-turn so fast I had to grab the dashboard to keep from getting whiplash. I had never seen him respond to any call, ever, like that…” she paused, “But when I knew for sure was when we were out for my and Wes’ joint bachelor/bachelorette party right after you guys finished. Remember Tim? We went up to the bar and that girl was basically throwing herself at you. Honestly, I still wonder if you even noticed.” 

“What are you talking about?” Tim laughed, he didn’t remember that at all; what he did remember about that night was Lucy in a short dress, hair down and wrapping around her shoulders; she was stunning, and that night, that realization that he thought his boot was hot, knocked him right on his ass. 

“Point made. You had no idea. She practically shoved her boobs in your face and propositioned herself; you didn’t even acknowledge her. You walked straight over to Lucy and made googly eyes at her all night. It was gross.” 

“No way, I didn’t even know then.” Time shook his head, the champagne and environment of the day letting him open up a bit. 

“You didn’t know? You basically drooled on yourself when you saw Lucy that night.” Angela challenged. 

“I am a man with eyeballs, Angela.” He rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, you were just not in touch with your obvious feelings. When were you enlightened? Big tough guy Tim Bradford have an emotional epiphany?” She joked. 

“Something like that.” He smiled at Lucy. He remembered it vividly; it was two years ago to the day he let his mind go there, after she brought him to watch the memorial from that high cliff. 

“I totally remember when I realized Lucy had a thing too, she was just as obvious.” Jackson joined in. 

“Oh yeah!” Nolan laughed, “That night at Smitty’s?”

“Yes, that one.” Jackson pointed at Lucy when she looked at him, confused, “We went out for drinks with some academy buddies and we were all talking about what training had been like, especially the last thirty day push. Someone said to Lucy they didn’t know how she survived with you, with your reputation. She immediately defended you, as usual, saying she actually missed you, but no one believed her. Then you called her; we all saw your name pop up and we’re all thinking she was in trouble, but the look on your face, Lucy.” Jackson nodded his head at his friend, taking another sip of his champagne. “Usually a T.O. calls you on a Saturday, that shit’s scary, but you looked happy about it. You ran off to answer it and we all watched waiting to see if he was reaming you out, as his reputation points to, but you were laughing, like a girly, a boy I like just called me, giggle” Lucy started to deny it, but he stopped her, “No; don’t even try to deny it, you know I know how you act around guys you like, and it was that times ten. What were you guys talking about that night, anyway?”

“…Kojo ate his shoes.” Lucy laughed at the memory, “I remember that, Tim. You tried to act so mad, but I could tell you loved that dog immediately. You were going on about how much of a good boy he had been until that day, and tried to say it was my fault and I had to come run him the next day before you didn’t have shoes.” 

“Oh yeah,” Tim smirked, “I remember that, and I have a confession….He never ate my shoes, I just wanted to see you. Figured it was a good excuse.” 

“Tim!” Lucy playfully smacked his arm, “You know you could have just asked to hang out right?” 

He shrugged, “I grew accustomed to you talking my ear off every day, so until we were reassigned back together the silence was deafening, you ruined my love of quiet. Worked in my favor though, you came every week after that.” 

“Adorable.” Angela said again, winking at Tim, knowing she was driving him nuts. 

He rolled his eyes about to protest, but Lucy interrupted, “I’m with Angela, you are surprisingly adorable.” She turned her head, looking up at him with a smile, before kissing his cheek. 

The rest of the evening they just enjoyed each others company; everyone taking turns playing corn hole, feasting on the meal Angela had provided, and chatting. Lucy and Jackson both ended up tipsy after they insisted on a two person flip cup race. Tim smiled at Lucy as she became blatantly more handsy after the game, running up to where he was sitting and plopping herself right on to his lap, “Having fun?” He asked.

She wrapped her arm around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a searing kiss, before whispering a gentle “Mhmm” in his ear, letting her lips vibrate against his earlobe. 

He turned so he was looking in her eyes, his significantly darker than they were a few moments prior, trying to read her expression to see if she was doing this on purpose, or just tipsy and flirty, “Easy, Lucy.” He whispered, “Unless you’re ready to get the hell out of here.” 

“You gonna go full neanderthal?” She flirted, squirming in his lap, knowing exactly what she was doing. 

He hissed, grabbing her hips to stop her. If his leg was functional, damn straight he would have picked her up, thrown her over his shoulder, and carried her straight out of there and home, but unfortunately, he knew today he wouldn’t get very far. “Yep, time to go, Boot. Get your things.” 

“So bossy.” She giggled, standing and helping him to his feet. 

They made their rounds saying goodbye to everyone, reaching Angela last, “We’re heading out Lopez, Lucy’s tired, thanks for the fun tonight.” Tim stood next to Lucy, she basically hanging off of him, even with his crutches in the way; she didn’t look tired, not one bit, but he didn’t care enough to come up with a different excuse. 

“Mhm.” Angela smirked at Tim, obviously knowing their real reason for leaving, “You kids have fun.” 

“Oh, we will.” Lucy laughed, heading out the door, causing Tim to blush slightly as Angela made a grossed out face. 

“Bye.” He said to Angela quickly, crutching his way quickly out the front towards his truck. They most definitely, would have fun tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I think I'm going to end it there... unless I am inspired to write more, we'll see. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
